Bullet wound evaluation

Overall for this part of the project I was fairly happy with the outcome of my prosthetic mould. When I started SFX at the beginning of the term I had little knowledge on how prosthetic moulds were made and now I feel like I have gained enough knowledge to be able to go forward in this project and move onto my hybrid design. I found it really interesting learning all the details that go into make the moulds, like making sure I used the correct measurements for the silicone. What I found difficult in particular was when I had applied the mould when I was blending away the edges so I appeared smooth on the skin, from this I learnt that I had to just take my time and it will eventually all blend in. The part I enjoyed the most was after I applied the wound and when I was adding the wound filler and blood. If I was to do it again I would probably change my initial clay mould idea, making sure that it was deep enough for the silicone and to look like a deep flesh wound.  

Special effect Assessment- Bullet wound

Above are the images for my Bullet wound assessment, the top is my mid length picture, the middle is a close up and the bottom is the wound without any makeup on it. 

 Model Consultation notes:

·         Model: Holly Lynch

·         Age: 21

·         Skin Type: Combination Skin

·         Tone: Fair

·         Allergies: n/a

·         Skin Conditions: n/a

Last stage of bullet wound

Products used:

• Kryolan Foundation Palette
• Aqua colour palette
• Supra Colour palette
• Wound filler 
• Fake blood

1.       Being as careful as possible, use and brush and either face powder or baby powder gently brush away the edges of the mould.

2.       Gradually peel away from the silicone, be really careful as it is easy to rip.

3.       Keep brushing away applying more powder till it is all off.

4.       Use pros ade to stick to the skin

5.       Apply the glue to the models skin and the piece

6.       Apply as thin layer of the pros ade to the skin and then do the same with the piece, making sure to be careful that the edges don’t fold over

7.       When the pros ade is completely clear (its first white) you can apply the piece to the skin

8.       Make sure to press down firmly and that it is the right position

9.       Use alcohol to blend away the edges, you can use a baby bud and a brush to do this

Adding colour and texture to the wound:

1.      Use the alcohol activated palette to create a skin tone and apply on the wound, I used it all over and some of the powder had got caught in it.

i also did my models makeup for the shoot products used were:
Kryolan Foundation palette
Camouflage Palette 
Illamasqua loose powder
Illamasqua skin base
Revolution Gold shimmer eye shadow
Revlon Mascara

2.      Use whatever colours you want to create the bullet wound, using wound filler, supra colour palette and fake blood.

 

Forth stage of bullet wound

·         Measure out 8g of Gel A and B following the steps in the previous post, making sure to change gloves and use different sticks to prevent any contamination.

·         Measure out 12g of the deadener to make the wound

·         Once mixed together add a pigment to get the correct colour for where the wound is going to be placed on the skin. (take into consideration models skin tone)

·         Fill the mould with the product, then using something like a ruler or with a smooth edge flatter out the edges and make sure the whole mould is covered with the mixture and is seamless. 

Third stage of bullet wound

1.       Remove the silicone mould from the cup and plastic tray

2.       Clean the mould with alcohol and a cotton pad/baby bud to get the fine details

3.       Use the ratio 1 baldiez: 2 alcohol and measure out

4.       Once the silicone mould is clean spray with petrolease, make sure you wear a protective mask and do this by a window or outside.

5.       Then apply 2/3 layers of the 1:2 ratio with a brush to mould making sure to get into all the crevices, cool with a hair dryer (on cool setting)

Second stage of bullet wound

1.       Cover work surface with cling film

2.       Label 2 of the wooden tongue depressors with A & B.

3.       Get a plastic cup and cut the top off, cutting it in half.

4.       Make sure to shake the mixing spray well, then spray the sculpture at a window for about 2 seconds, just to give it a light covering.

5.       Then once that is dry spray with Petrolease, make sure you are wearing a mask to protect yourself from the fumes and are doing this at a window or outside.

6.       Using a glue gun, place the top half of the plastic cup over the plastic try with your mould on and seal into place using a glue gun. Make sure there is no holes for liquid to escape.

7.       When measuring your silicone you need to make sure you have the exact amount in both.

8.       Then depending on how much you are going to use, I measured 30g of platsil gel A and 30g platsil gel B with a total of 60g

9.       Make sure that whenever you are measuring the gel’s you change your gloves for each, to ensure there is no contamination

10.   Use scales to measure the gel’s, and carefully measure then, using stick A for gel A and carefully measure out 30g. Then put the lid back on and clean up and change gloves.

11.   Then use stick B for gel B and measure out 30g, you can measure it in the same cup as they are going to be mixed together anyway so it doesn’t matter about contamination at this part. Wipe clean both gel pots with baby wipes and put away.

12.   For the next part it doesn’t matter what stick you use, but mix gel A and B together, making sure there is no air bubbles.

13.   Pour the gel into the mould, making sure it covers the sculpture and wait for it to try, this should take up to an hour.  

Process of making my bullet wound

First stage of making my bullet wound:

1.       Firstly cut off a small amount of modelling clay, you may think you’ll need a lot but you only need a small amount. You can do this using any of the tools but preferably one with a sharp edge.

2.       Then start to mould your clay onto the plastic try, you can use a hair dryer (on the cool setting) to heat it up so it is easier to mould.

3.       Making sure all the edges are as smooth as possible, begin to create to bullet wound by firstly measuring a small circle, I did mine 8mm as this was the size of the bullet used.

4.       Use as many tools as you can to try and create the perfect bullet mould, scrape away edges and make sure that it is smooth.

5.       You can use the hair dryer as much as you want to heat up the clay, it will make it easier to mould.

6.       When you are happy with your mould make sure that you keep it in a safe place if you aren’t going to create the wound straight away, preferably in a plastic container.

The Story behind my Bullet wound

My character:

·         Female

·         Young (early 20s)

·         Place of wound: hand

The story behind my bullet wound is that my character is in an abusive relationship. They get into a fight and her partner pulls out a gun. She tries to run away and get to safety but he shoots at her and it hits her pn the hand. The gun used was a 9mm Handgun

Bullet Wound: Exit

When I picked out the bullet wound of the hat I wasn’t aware of how much research I would have to do for when creating my bullet wound. I had to decide whether it would be an exit or entrance wound, what gun and bullets were used and were on the body the wound would be. I have chosen to make an exit wound, I chose this because I think I will be able to show my skills more with creating the depth of the wound. I looked at a lot of entrance and exit wound and they are very different, and entrance wound is normally quite clean, a whole in the body, the obvious blood and sometimes gun powder around the wound. But exit wounds were a lot messier, bits of skin hanging off and you can often see the flesh inside.

In some cases entrance and exit wounds can be clean and the bullet can simply pass through the body without doing anything other than a small amount of damage. However given certain factors such as the proximity of the attacker, the calibre of the weapon, and the nature of rounds being fired from the weapon, these can have an effect on the overall wounding pattern.

Exit wounds are usually larger than the entrance wound and this is because as the round moves through the body of the victim it slows down and explodes within the tissue and surrounding muscle. This slowing down of the projectile means that as it reaches the end of its trajectory it has to force harder to push through. This equates to the exit wound normally looking larger and considerably more destructive than its pre-cursor - the entrance wound. Exit wounds will often bleed profusely as they are larger but entrance wounds can sometimes look only like small holes, unless the weapon is fired at close proximity to the victim. Other things include; they can have a variety of shapes e.g. slit-like, X-shaped, irregular. Exit wounds from high velocity firearms tend to be large and destructive, a typical exit wound does not have an abrasion ring and underlying tissues may be protruding.

http://www.forensicmed.co.uk/wounds/firearms/gunshot-wounds-rifled-weapons/

http://www.mussenhealth.us/gunshot-wounds/shotgun-injuries.html

Special Efffect Wound

In class we had to choose out of a hat for a special effects wound to make in partners, my partner (Ruby) and myself picked a bullet wound.  Some of the other types of wounds we could of got were:

·         Scar

·         Bite (teeth mark)

·         burn

·         glass wound

·         knife wound

Special effects makeup, also called prosthetic makeup is the process of sculpting, moulding and casting techniques to make innovative cosmetic effects using makeup. Special effects makeup is used in films and movies and for theatre performances. Actors use makeup to create illusions and enhance features or to completely change the way they look. Age is just one aspect that can be changed with special effects makeup. Another is defining physical features or characteristics such as moles, eyes and even nose sizes

Technique:

It usually begins with a life casting, the process of taking a mould of a body part (often the face) to use as a base for sculpting the prosthetic, they are usually made of silicone rubber. Notable people in this field include; John Chambers working on planet of the apes, Howard Berger working on The Chronicles of Narnia film series and Gregory Nicotero on The Walking Dead.  

Some of my favourite images I found of special effects makeup include:

inspiration images for my bullet wound

Designing my Bullet wound

As well as having some inspiration images for my bullet wound I wanted to try and 'attempt' to draw my design. Seen above I drew around my hand and then attempted to draw what I want my wound to look like. 

Introduction

I am really looking forward to starting this special effect unit. I haven’t really done a lot of prosthetic makeup therefore feel it will be an interesting new project for me. I am excited to learn how changing somethings shape and texture can alter the appearance of the human face and body and also learning to distort, age and texture the skin. Thinking about SFX makeup I automatically think about bloody wounds and infected cuts, but after some research I found that it is a lot more than that, covering; skin disorders, using bald caps, 3D effects and bruising. SFX makeup is usually found in the entertainment industry so artists are usually hired for theatres, film and television productions, theme parks, cruise ships or avant-garde fashion shows.

When looking at SFX makeup I found the definition that it is ‘the process of using prosthetic sculpting, moulding and casting techniques to create advanced cosmetic effects.’ With this in mind I can wait to do research on hybrids that have appeared on TV shows and see how it could affect my design for this project.

The only experience that I have in special effects is the work we did in 1^st year, which included; theatrical aging, aging of the hands, burns, bruising, scars, cuts and wounds. As this was the first time I experienced SFX makeup at first I felt like I was being thrown into the deep end but in the end I found it really fascinating, learning how people aged differently and where the age lines appear and the process of bruising and how they heal. 

Picture of some of the SFX work I did in 1st year. 

For this unit I am looking forward to creating my hybrid character, I am going to research different animals and see how I can merge them into one. Also getting research from TV shows and nature to get inspiration for this part of the unit. I expect that I am going to have to work really hard for this unit, and I worry that I may struggle with the technical sides to but I am confident that I will try my hardest and do well.